Endoscopes require frequent cleaning. It is found that endoscopes (such as those lined with, for example, a polyurethane sleeve) can be sterilised between uses by a cleaning regime that involves the pushing and/or pulling through of a brush or other cleaning head, the effect of which is to smooth the inwardly directed surface and surface deposits of the polyurethane sleeve or its equivalent. Apparently this better enables chemical cleaning and sterilisation to ensure. See for example the post 2 Mar. 2000 published content of PCT/AU99/00669 (WO00/10476) of Novapharm Research (Australia) Pty Limited, the full content of which is here included by way of reference.
A feature of the pull through of aforementioned WO00/10476 is the requirement that the cleaning member at the end of the pull through be 0.1 mm narrower than the passageway of the endoscope to be cleaned.
PCT/NZ00/00198 (published as WO01/28406) of Galantai (Plastics) Group Limited discloses a pull through manufacturing process where the pull through is suitable for cleaning endoscopes. The pull through is manufactured reliant upon a filament having at least a thermoplastic surface and a moulded thermoplastic mass about the filament defining a pull through profile adapted for the purpose of the pull through. The filament is preferably a monofilament sufficiently stiff to enable its threading through a conduit, passageway or the like of an endoscope for which it is adapted or intended for use. The moulded thermoplastic mass (i.e. the pull through profile or cleaning feature) is of a material of lower melting point than at least part of the filament.
A feature of the manufacturing procedure of a pull through of WO01/28406 is the conditioning of the coil or spool fed filament at an elevated temperature whilst under axial tension so as to reduce coil or spool memory in the filament. This better enables a manufacturing procedure whereby substantially straight pull throughs can be accumulated for packaging or other downstream treatment.
The cleaning profile, mass or head of WO01/28406 involved a materials blend and outstanding 360° fins requiring matching of the pull through to specific endoscope channel sizes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,004 of DC Bean describes an endoscopic tube cleaner where the body of the cleaner extends axially in relation to the tube with a plurality of blades integral with the body. A feature of that particular arrangement is the provision whereby each blade of an axially spaced set of such blades is such that there is 360° wiping but each blade itself does not provide for 360° wiping. This may enable some adaptability to different endoscope channel sizes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,004 states that the invention is directed to a system where the user must be absolutely certain that every portion of the inside surface of the endoscopic tube has been wiped by the blades. This they state is accommodated where, unlike prior art where blades or their equivalent each wipe the entire circumference internally of the tube, their blades do not each subtend 360° about the axis of the body i.e. as stated in the claim set “at least one of said blades provided at each of first and subsequent axially spaced locations lengthwise on the body” “are rotationally staggered in their angular placement around the axis of the body so that when the tube cleaner is viewed in the axial direction, the at least one gap in the area of the walls not contacted and wiped by said at least one of said blades at the first location is completely covered by the immediately adjacent said at least one of said blades at the next subsequent axially spaced location”.
The present invention is directed, in one aspect, to cleaning apparatus such as an endoscopic pull through with adaptability to accommodate different size circular conduits (e.g. endoscopic conduits, channels, passageways or the like (“channels”)) such that the one size can effectively accommodate the cleaning requirement of each of a range of endoscopic channel diameters.
For example, whilst the Olympus™ endotherapy devices have a range of minimum channel diameters vis 1.2 mm, 1.7 mm, 2.0 mm, 2.6 mm, 2.8 mm, 3.7 mm, 5.0 mm and 6.0 mm, commonly used channel diameters are, say, 5.0 mm and 2.6 mm. Likewise whether the endoscope brand is that of Pentax™ or other providers.
The invention, in an alternative aspect, is directed to a manufacturing process suitable for pull through production.